Posted December 23, 1999
GM foods off the menu at Monsanto 
In a bit of embarrassing irony, catering facilities at Monsanto's High
Wycombe offices have been declared a GM-free zone.
IT report raises the same questions for FM
Why don't companies place a higher value on their support specialists?
Why couldn't they be used as a source of income?
Search is on for entrepreneur of the year
2000
1999's entrepreneur of the year was Mark Dixon of Regus, the serviced
office provider.
New appointment for IFMA
The International Facility Management Association (IFMA) has appointed
Geert Freling, CFM, president and chief executive officer of Facility
Management Schiphol Plc, in Amsterdam, Netherlands, as its 1999-2000 international
vice chair.
Posted December 22, 1999
Pressure is on to improve planning application
performance
The latest measures of how quickly local authorities deal with planning
applications show that many have improved their speed - but few of these
have managed to match the standard set by the most efficient...
Onwards and upwards with European e-commerce
Market research specialist Forrester has issued new year-end projections
for e-commerce growth in Europe - and the picture is very bright, at least
in the north.
Orange moves fast to open customer service
centre
To keep pace with rapidly growing demand for mobile phone services, Orange
has opened a 2000sqm "interim" customer service centre in Plymouth...
Schools minister talks to FMs 
Education Minister, Estelle Morris, held a private breakfast meeting last
week with leading FM companies to advise them about the Government's plans
for extending contracting out of services in the education sector...
Posted December 21, 1999
Call centres generate more jobs
Call centre developments are at the heart of new employment opportunities
in Scotland and Wales.
Johnson Controls wins Xerox in the US
Xerox has awarded Johnson Controls a five-year contract for workplace
management and facilities support services at its 900,000sqm site in Rochester,
New York.
Sex change
The Equal Opportunities Commission has issued a century-end review highlighting
how things have changed over the years for women.
Posted December 20, 1999
The future is definitely wireless
A virtual tidal wave of opinion is forming on the horizon, all focused
on a wireless future which is predicted to arrive first in Europe.
Joint ventures to add functionality to mobiles
The telecoms industry has seen a number of strategic links forged in recent
weeks, as mobile handset manufacturers and service providers seek to keep
ahead of the competition.
Strong growth in services helps Siemens to
increase turnover
Figures for the year ending September 30th show turnover at the Siemens
group up by over 12% to £2.4bn.
Posted December 17, 1999
Whole-life cost forum established at BRE
The Building Research Establishment is to act as host for a new broad-based
initiative aimed at developing a better understanding of whole-life (or,
alternatively, life-cycle) costing for buildings and promoting its advantages.
Designs of the decade named
In a competition that drew nearly 200 entries from around the world, Herman
Miller's Aeron chair has emerged as one of 12 gold award winners for product
quality.
Prue Redfern named chairman of BSA
Symonds FM managing director Prue Redfern has been selected as the new
chairman of the board of directors of the Business Services Association.
Posted December 16, 1999
New service for monitoring regulatory changes
launched
The Government's band of "e-envoys" must be wondering how hard they have
to work in order to get things right.
Outsourced
call centres set to grow as functions change
New findings from market research specialist Datamonitor project
continued strong growth in outsourced call centres in Europe.
Europe goes electronic
One third of Europe's population will be routinely working with new technologies
by 2003.
Health and Safety Offenders Beware
As part of the continuing push by the HSE for tougher sentencing on companies
that break health and safety regulations, the Lord Chancellor (Lord Irvine)
has called for legislation to be introduced to increase the range of offences
for which companies can be fined and for which directors can be imprisoned.
Posted December 15, 1999
A silver bullet for Y2K?
With less than three weeks to go until the year 2000 date change, technology
company Information Sciences Group has launched a so-called 'silver bullet'
solution for existing computer systems.
Government
presses the internet case again
Cabinet technology supremo Ian McCartney has been busy. Fresh from
his announcement of new standards for public sector call centres, he has
launched a series of initiatives on other fronts.
Industry update: new job, new opportunities
in a new sector
Philip Roberts, head of strategic FM at Hertfordshire County Council,
has been appointed to IFMA's board of directors.
Posted December 14, 1999
Work smarter, says DTI
In its first annual benchmarking study of international competitiveness,
the DTI has found that the UK is not leading in the 'knowledge economy',
as might have been hoped.
Banks
need to re-invent themselves - or disappear
If banks and similar financial businesses don't get more aggressive
about new strategies, they will soon cease to be both effective and profitable.
Another company looks for a way out of property
Following on JP Morgan's announcement last week that it is looking for
a 'corporate PFI' partner, Deutsche Telekom is reported to be looking
at ways to shed its properties.
Tax Relief for Energy Efficiency
The scale of the Climate Change Levy is set to be announced in the 2000
budget, but the latest consultation is already concerned with how the
revenue from the levy will be invested.
Posted December 13, 1999
BT call centres back in business
After BT suffered its first national strike in 13 years, a solution has
been found to the dispute with call centre staff.
E-commerce
barriers to fall
UK European Competitiveness Minister Helen Liddell has announced
that agreements in Brussels will see the end of at least some barriers
to pan-European e-commerce.
More on the future of the mobile
There is no question that the mobile phone you now have in your pocket
will soon be as outdated as the briefcase-size models of the '80s.
Posted December 10, 1999
Too much time spent on budget issues, says
research
KPMG reports that inefficient budgeting systems and processes are consuming
about 20% of senior managers' time.
Another
step towards the wireless revolution
Ericsson and Microsoft have announced a collaboration aimed at
developing the next generation of mobile phone.
Industry update: news from the public sector
Amey Business Support Services is the lead partner in 3ED Ltd,
a consortium that has been named as preferred bidder in a PFI contract
that would provide all secondary education facilities for the City of
Glasgow.
Posted December 9, 1999
Privatised PFI gets new leaders
Partnerships UK, the new private sector body set to take over much of
the work of the Treasury's Private Finance Initiative Taskforce, has taken
another step towards viability.
UK
sets a green example
Government policy on the environment may often seem like 'one step
forward, two steps back', but apparently much of the rest of Europe looks
to the UK for new ideas.
JP Morgan looks for corporate PFI partner
City investment bank JP Morgan has confirmed that it is in the market
for a 'corporate PFI' solution to its accommodation needs.
NAO to look at GCHQ costs
The National Audit Office is to be asked by Parliament's Intelligence
and Security Committee to examine the PFI project to rebuild GCHQ...
Posted December 8, 1999
New standards for public sector call centres
Cabinet Office Minister Ian McCartney has launched a series of new initiatives
aimed at improving the standards of service and the working practices
in public sector call centres.
Big
win for Compass
Compass Group has won a huge contract to feed 12,700 Ford employees
in the UK.
Unions sound dual alarm
An annual survey by the TUC has found that unions are handling record
numbers of stress compensation claims.
Health Authority Pays Out £600,000 for Work
Injuries
A former employee of South West Durham Health Authority who needed part
of her leg amputated after accidents at work has won £600,000 compensation.
Posted December 7, 1999
Fitting the pieces together for a transport
strategy that works
Oracle's head of real estate and facilities Tim Caiger argues that transport
links will increasingly become a prime factor in location decisions.
Workplace
parking tax slammed
The London Chamber of Commerce is leading a campaign against a
proposed levy on workplace parking.
Holzmann future in doubt again
The government-backed rescue plan for Germany's second largest construction
group, Philipp Holmann, has been called into doubt by the intervention
of the EC competition commissioner.
Contracts (Rights of Third Party) Act 1999
The Third Party Rights Act 1999 received Royal Assent on 11 November 1999...
Posted December 6, 1999
Another huge outsourcing contract for BP AMOCO
BP Amoco has awarded MCI WorldCom a five-year $650M contract for global
telecommunications services.
Regus
extends its offer into housing
Another new idea from serviced workplace provider Regus - this
time combining office space and corporate housing.
Industry update: more change in construction,
more new work (almost)
Restructuring at Tarmac and expressions of a new direction at John Laing
have been followed by the news that Australia's Lend Lease Corporation
has acquired Bovis.
Posted December 3, 1999
We're ready for the millennium Ð or are we?
Y2K thorn-in-the-side Taskforce 2000 has issued a scathing response to
its Government-financed counterpart's claim that the UK is on top of the
date change problem.
Telecoms
costs pose threat to business
Two major organisations have told the Telecommunications Managers
Association conference that high costs may soon begin to drive business
out of Europe.
BSRIA study to focus on FM feedback
The first steering group meeting of a new BSRIA research project is set
for next week.
Posted December 2, 1999
Partnering is the theme for the future, says
BT
BT CEO Sir Peter Bonfield has told a CBI conference that partnership between
customer and suppliers must replace adversarial contract relationships.
Most
mergers fail to create value, says new study
Consultants KPMG have studied a series of mergers and acquisitions
and come to the conclusion that most fail to deliver the benefits originally
foreseen.
HSE explains its interest in call centres
The Health & Safety Executive has released more information about its
planned investigation of call centre environments and working practices.
Consequential Losses: Beware
The recent case of Johnston -v- WH Brown decided in the Scottish Court
of Sessions sheds further light on the use of the term 'consequential
loss' in facilities management contracts...
Posted December 1, 1999
US plans to impose ergonomic requirements
on employers
In the United States, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration
has published proposed regulations that would require employers to implement
ergonomic standards in the workplace.
Technology
named as greatest shaper of our world
In a millennium-end poll of American journalists, science has emerged
as the dominant theme in the top 100 news stories of the 20th Century.
Industry update: business is good
Reports from last month's WorkPlace exhibition are generally favourable...